Stackable open topped box

ABSTRACT

A stackable open topped box is provided in which the box is made of a folded blank of fluted sheet material. At least a part of a ledge panel is attached to an upper edge of a relevant wall so as to project over a pillar formation in a corner of the box. The pillar formation comprises first, second, third and optionally fourth flaps each attached to the other by a sulcation with the first pillar flap being attached to the ledge panel. An attachment flap may also be provided at each end of the wall having the flutes extending up its height. The arrangement is such that the flutes of all of the first, second, third and any fourth pillar flaps as well as any attachment flap extend in the direction of the height of the box.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a stackable open topped box made of folded fluted sheet material selected from corrugated cardboard and extruded fluted plastic sheet material. The invention also relates to a blank cut and sulcated sheet of fluted material from which such a box may be erected. More particularly, the invention relates to a stackable open topped box that has pillar formations in the corners whereby at least a substantial portion of the weight of boxes stacked on top of any one box is carried.

In this specification the words sulcated, sulcation or sulcate each relates to a fold line or the formation of a fold line that is typically a groove; one or more spaced cuts through the sheet material; a combination of one or more spaced cuts and an in-line groove; or any other line of weakening along which the sheet material will fold in preference to other areas of the sheet of material that are not sulcated. A sulcation may take many different forms and depending on the thickness of the fluted sheet material, it may take the form of two parallel grooves, spaced cuts or combinations thereof.

In this specification a dominant part of the description will relate to corrugated cardboard as such a material is currently almost exclusively used for the subject purpose. However, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that exactly the same principles can be applied to any other fluted sheet material such as extruded fluted plastic sheet material and such other fluted sheets are intended to fall within the scope hereof with possible consequential differences as regards the manner in which sulcations are formed that may involve heat softening the material and then forming fold lines.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Open topped corrugated cardboard boxes are widely used for the transport, storage and display of fresh produce, especially fresh fruit and vegetables. Such produce is relatively heavy and the boxes need to be capable of being stacked one on top of the other to at least a reasonable height and may entail stacking of from 5 to 10 boxes on top of a lowermost box.

The size of the boxes is targeted at containing a predetermined weight of a predetermined type of fresh produce and is also dictated by the size of a pallet on which the boxes are to be transported. Also, as regards their height, the height of a container or other transport vehicle in which they are to be transported will be relevant. Many different sizes are thus manufactured, typically for specific purposes or for holding a specific type of fruit or vegetable. In any event the objective is to occupy substantially all of the area of a pallet and substantially all of the height of a container or transport vehicle body. Just by way of example, the typical size of a so called citrus box is 594 mm long by 390 mm wide and 169 mm high. Numerous other sizes will be appropriate for other purposes.

Irrespective of the exact size of a box, it is important that the configuration of folds made in a pre-cut and sulcated blank in order to erect a box does not result in any unused space between adjacent boxes. External flaps secured to the outer surfaces of the sides or ends of a box are therefore generally avoided. Also, in order to provide for at least a limited inspection of the contents of a box, a major part of the length of the upper edges of the side walls have part of the height, typically about 25 mm, cut away. This provides a ventilation passage as well as an inspection window between stacked boxes.

The supporting pillars at the corners of a box are created by folding the pre-cut and sulcated sheet material to form what are generally, but not necessarily, triangular pillars. Of course, the strength of a pillar is very much enhanced if the length the flutes or corrugations extends up the height of the box. Various different configurations of cuts and folds have been used in the past with different degrees of efficacy and economy of sheet material that is consumed in producing the blanks.

The strength of the pillar will, of course, depend on the strength of the sheet material as well as on the cut and direction in which the flutes of various flaps extend.

The cost of a box is therefore very much dependent on the cut and fold configuration of the box, the cost of the sheet material used, and the overall size of the outer periphery of the blank before it is folded.

It is to be mentioned that blanks that are adapted to be manually erected without the use of adhesive are generally different in that they also have locking tabs and receiving apertures to lock the box in the erected condition. This often leads to extra material being used in order to provide flaps that can be manually locked in position. Blanks adapted to be manually folded are typically more expensive.

On the other hand blanks that are adapted to be machine folded are generally simply glued in their erected condition. As a general rule the machine folded boxes are preferred if the machine folding facility is available suitably close to the site where the boxes are to be filled as they are generally appreciably less costly. Obviously it is uneconomical from a transport and storage point of view to transport or store any appreciable numbers of erected boxes so that it is usual to transport and store the blanks pending erection for use.

In order to facilitate stacking and vertical alignment of stacked boxes, it is commonplace to provide cut-outs in the lower edge of each of the end walls that register with upstanding tabs forming extensions of the upper edges of the end walls of the next lower box on which a box is being stacked. It is, accordingly, important that the tabs are properly aligned with the cut-outs in the stacked condition and it is not always easy to align such boxes in the event that the upper edges of the end walls are simply cut or folded over edges that are not much more than the thickness of the fluted sheet material being used.

In order to facilitate stacking, the end walls have, in many instances, been provided with an inwardly directed horizontal section termed a ledge so that the bottom of a box can be slid a short distance on the ledges to cause proper registration of the tabs and cut-outs. The ledges typically cover the upper ends of the pillar formations.

In one currently available type of box that has ledges of this nature, the ends of the ledge are extended to provide a side wall attachment flap to be adhesively secured to the inside of the side wall when the box is erected and a second end wall attachment flap secured to the side wall attachment flap by way of a fold. The side walls of the box have attached thereto by way of a fold a first end wall attachment flap the other edge of which has attached thereto, by way of a fold, a pillar forming diagonal flap. This arrangement neatly utilises an exactly rectangular area for the blank with the flutes or corrugations extending longitudinally so that the flutes in the ends of the box extend vertically.

The problem with this arrangement is that the flutes of all of the side wall attachment flap, the second end wall attachment flap (both of which are attached to the ledge), the first end wall attachment flap and pillar forming diagonal flap that are attached to the side wall have their flutes extending horizontally, that is in the weaker of the two directions, at the pillar. This is a natural consequence of the design of the blank of the box and naturally leads to a heavier grade of corrugated cardboard being needed than would otherwise be the case.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with one aspect of this invention there is provided a stackable open topped box made of a folded blank of fluted sheet material in which two opposite side walls and two opposite end walls are folded at generally right angles along sulcations attaching them to a bottom of the box wherein the flutes may extend either parallel to the length of the box in the direction in which the side walls extend or parallel to the width of the box in the direction in which the end walls extend, wherein the side walls or end walls that have the flutes extending transverse to the height of the box have at least a part of a ledge panel attached to an upper edge of the relevant wall by way of a fold at a sulcation so as to project over a pillar formation in a corner of the box, and wherein the pillar formation comprises a first pillar flap having an upper end connected to an edge of the ledge panel by way of a fold at a sulcation with the first pillar flap extending substantially to the bottom of the box and being secured to the adjacent end wall or side wall thereby conforming to a corner of the box, and at least second and third pillar flaps each attached to the other by a fold at a sulcation extending up the height of the box with the second pillar flap being secured to the other of the end wall or side wall, or any attachment flap that may already be secured thereto; the arrangement being such that the flutes of each of any attachment flap, and the first, second and third pillar flaps extend in the direction of the height of the box.

Further features of this aspect of the invention provide for a fourth pillar flap to be attached to the third pillar flap by a fold at a sulcation with the flutes of the fourth pillar flap also extending up the height of the box; for the third pillar flap to either extend diagonally across the corner to form a triangular cross-sectioned pillar in which instance the fourth pillar flap can be secured to the inside of the side wall or end wall, or alternatively, for the third pillar flap to be secured back onto the second pillar flap in which instance the fourth pillar flap is secured to the inside of the other of the first pillar flap that is secured to the side wall or end wall, or further alternatively the fourth pillar flap is secured to the inside surface of the first pillar flap; and for the end walls of the box to have upwardly projecting tabs at the upper edges thereof and corresponding cut-outs in the lower edges thereof in order to facilitate vertical alignment of the boxes when stacking one on top of another.

As regards a side wall or end wall having the flutes extending up the height thereof, as the case may be, a single attachment flap may optionally be provided at each end of the wall with the attachment flap being defined by a sulcation of the sheet material extending up the height of the box. In such an instance each attachment flap extends at generally right angles to the wall to which it is attached and is secured to the adjacent end wall or side wall to thereby conform to a corner of the box. The flutes of the attachment flap and thus also extend up the height of the box.

However, such an attachment flap is not always necessary or required and each of the side wall or end wall that is not attached to the part of a ledge panel could be simply cut straight and adhesively secured to the folded pillar formation.

It is also possible that an attachment flap of this nature could be secured to the outside surface of the adjacent side or end wall although the thickness of the cardboard on the outside, as indicated above, will detract from the maximum area that can be covered by the available bottoms to boxes that are located next to each other in the same plane.

Another feature that may optionally be applied to open topped boxes that have an indentation extending along a part, typically a major part, of each of the side walls that serve as ventilation and inspection apertures between adjacent vertically stacked boxes in use is the fact that the fluted sheet material that would normally be cut out of the indentation is not removed but folded inwards along a line of sulcation and is secured to the inside of the side wall to thereby provide an edge region to the side wall with enhanced rigidity.

In a first variation of the invention the flutes of the side walls extend up the height of the box and the flutes of the end walls consequently extend across the width of the box. In such an instance the end walls have ledges extending across the width of the box and to each end of which is attached the operatively upper end of the associated first pillar flap that has its second, third and any fourth pillar flaps attached next to each other to the one side of the first pillar flap by way of folds at sulcations.

In a second variation of the invention the flutes of the side walls extend along the length of the box and the flutes of the end walls consequently extend up the height of the box. In such an instance the upper edges of the side walls have at least terminal ledge portions extending inwards over the tops of the pillar formations and to each end of which is attached the operatively upper end of the associated first pillar flap that has its second, third and any fourth pillar flaps attached to the one side of the first pillar flap by way of folds at sulcations. In such an instance the ledge may extend the full length of the box; there may be ventilation and window forming apertures extending along the upper edge of the side walls for at least a major central part of the length thereof; or the major part of the length of the ledge may be removed to provide only two terminal ledge portions at the ends of the side walls.

In accordance with a second aspect of the invention there is provided a blank of fluted sheet material that has been cut and sulcated to be folded into a box as defined above, the blank being basically in the form of a rectangular piece of fluted sheet material cut and sulcated to provide two opposite side walls and two opposite end walls attached along sulcations to a bottom of the box wherein the flutes may extend either parallel to the length of the box in the direction in which the side walls extend or parallel to the width of the box in the direction in which the end walls extend, and wherein the side walls or end walls that have the flutes extending in a direction transverse to that corresponding to the height of the box in use have at least a part of a ledge panel attached to the outermost edge towards each end of the relevant wall by way of a sulcation, wherein the ledge panel is attached by way of a sulcation to one end of a first pillar flap that is in turn attached to at least a second and a third pillar flap each of which is attached to the other by a sulcation extending in a direction corresponding to the height of the box, the arrangement being such that the flutes of each of the first, second and third pillar flaps extend in a direction corresponding to the height of the box in the erected condition of the blank as do the flutes of any attachment flap that may be attached to an end or side wall that has the flutes extending in a direction corresponding to the height of the box.

A further feature of this second aspect of the invention provides for a fourth pillar flap to be attached to the third pillar flap by a sulcation with the flutes of the fourth pillar flap also extending in a direction corresponding to the height of a box.

As indicated above, it is optional for a side wall or end wall that has the flutes extending in a direction corresponding to the height thereof to have a single attachment flap at each end of the wall that is defined by a sulcation of the sheet material at the end of that wall. In such an instance, each attachment flap lies next to, with the flutes extending parallel to, those of the fourth (where it is present), third, second, and first pillar flaps in that order whilst being separated from the nearest pillar flap by a cut and possibly a small gap depending on the thickness of the fluted sheet material with the ends of the attachment, fourth, third, and second flaps all being separated from the side or end wall to which the ledge panel is attached.

In the first variation of the invention the blank has a ledge panel attached to the edge of each end wall in which instance the first pillar flaps form an extension to that ledge panel being attached thereto by way of a sulcation, and the second, third and any fourth pillar flaps are in line with the side walls that have the attachment flaps at their ends.

In the second variation of the invention the blank has at least ledge panel terminal portions connecting the edge of the side wall, in each case, with the first pillar flap and thence the second, third, and any fourth pillar flap.

It is an important feature of the invention that the blanks are especially designed so as to be capable of machine erection utilising adhesive to secure an appropriate areas of the fluted sheet material together.

In order that the invention may be more fully understood, various embodiments of each of the first and second variations thereof will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank that has been cut and sulcated to form one embodiment of box according to the first variation of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a box partially erected from the blank illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a box being erected from a blank as illustrated in FIG. 1 and showing one end complete and one end with the pillar formations formed at the end wall but with the ledge still coplanar with the bottom of the box;

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a fully erected box folded from the blank illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a side view of the box illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is the same as FIG. 3 but showing an alternative pillar construction in the corner;

FIG. 7 illustrates in isometric view a partially erected box illustrating an alternative way in which the pillar flaps can be secured together to form a triangular cross-sectioned pillar;

FIG. 8 illustrates in isometric view a partially erected box being one embodiment of the second variation of the invention;

FIG. 9 is an isometric view of a partially erected box illustrating an alternative construction in which the attachment flap is omitted completely; and,

FIG. 10 is an isometric view of a partially erected box illustrating the attachment flap arranged for attachment to the outer surface of the end wall of the box.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION WITH REFERENCE TO THE DRAWINGS

In the embodiment of the first variation of the invention that is illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 5 of the drawings, a stackable open topped box (1) is made of a folded cut and sulcated blank of fluted sheet material, in this instance a corrugated cardboard material that for heavy duty purposes may have two (or even more) layers of fluting in the form of corrugations that may be somewhat different in configuration but extend in the same direction. The general nature of such a corrugated cardboard sheet material is discussed somewhat further below.

The box has two opposite side walls (2) and two opposite end walls (3) that are folded at generally right angles along sulcations attaching them to a bottom (4). In this variation of the invention the flutes of the corrugated cardboard material extend in a direction that is parallel to the width of the box and therefore transverse to the height of the box insofar as the end walls are concerned. In this instance, as a consequence, the side walls have the flutes of the corrugated cardboard extending up the height of the box and in the direction indicated by arrows “X” in FIGS. 1 to 4.

The side walls each have a single attachment flap (5) at each end of the wall defined by a sulcation of the sheet material extending up the height of the box. Each attachment flap extends at generally right angles to the side wall to which it is attached and is adhesively secured to the inside surface of the adjacent end wall of the box to thereby start forming a corner of the box. The flutes therefore extend up the height of the attachment flap.

The end walls each have a ledge panel (6) attached to the upper edge thereof by way of a fold at a sulcation so that the ledge projects over a pillar formation in a corner of the box and across the entire width of the box.

Turning now to the pillar formation, each pillar formation comprises a first pillar flap (11) having an upper end (12) connected to an end of the ledge panel by way of a fold at a sulcation. This first pillar flap extends substantially to the bottom of the box and is adhesively secured to the inside surface of the adjacent side wall thereby conforming to a corner of the box. Connected to each first pillar flap by way of folds at sulcations, are, in sequence, a parallel second pillar flap (13), a parallel third pillar flap (14) and a parallel fourth pillar flap (15), each attached to the other by a fold at a sulcation extending up the height of the box. The second pillar flap is adhesively secured to the inside surface of the attachment flap that is already secured to the inside surface of the end wall; the third pillar flap, as illustrated especially in FIGS. 3 and 4, extends diagonally across the corner to form a triangular cross-sectioned pillar; and the fourth flap is adhesively secured to the inside surface of the side wall next to the position in which the first pillar flap is secured to such inside surface.

As an alternative to that described above, the arrangement illustrated in FIG. 6 could be employed in which the third pillar flap, indicated by numeral (14 a), may be adhesively secured to the inside surface of the second pillar flap (13 a) which is already secured to the inside surface of the attachment flap (5 a). In such an instance, the fourth pillar flap (15 a) is adhesively secured to the inside surface of the first pillar flap (11 a) that is secured to the inside surface of the side wall (2 a).

In either instance an extremely strong pillar is provided at each corner of the box with the arrangement being such that the flutes of each of the attachment flap, the first, second, third and fourth pillar flaps all extend in the direction of the height of the box.

As described in the introduction to this specification and as is common in the practice of the subject art, the box is provided with the usual upstanding tabs (18) and cooperating cut-outs (19) associated with the end walls for facilitating alignment of vertically stacked boxes.

The strength of a box having the construction of a pillar as described above is highly significant as it enables the strength, and therefore the cost, of the corrugated cardboard sheet material to be reduced significantly. One standard commercially available box for packaging, transporting and storing citrus and having the dimensions indicated above currently employs a corrugated cardboard having successive layers of a first outer sheet of 300 g/m² cardboard, a corrugated layer of 165 g/m² cardboard and having what is known as a “B” flute of corrugation, a flat central layer of a sheet of 250 g/m² cardboard, a second corrugated layer of 165 g/m² cardboard having what is known as a “C” flute of corrugation and a second flat outer layer of 250 g/m². It has been estimated that this corrugated cardboard could be replaced, if the construction described above is employed, by a corrugated cardboard having successive layers of a sheet of 250 g/m² cardboard, a corrugated layer of 165 g/m² cardboard and having a “B” flute of corrugation, a flat central layer of a sheet of 200 g/m² cardboard, a second corrugated layer of 165 g/m² cardboard having a “C” flute of corrugation and a second flat outer layer of 200 g/m². The saving in the cost of the material would be significant.

It has also been estimated that corrugated cardboard trays commonly used for packing avocado pears can be appreciably reduced in cost by using the construction of the invention. Currently used corrugated cardboard has layers of corrugations of the “B” and “E” flute and it has been estimated that this could be replaced by corrugated cardboard having a single layer of corrugations of the “B” flute.

It is to be noted that the blank from which the box described above is folded, preferably by machine folding, is as illustrated in FIG. 1 and the detail of the cuts and sulcations will be quite apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art and need not be further described herein. Suffice it to say that, as required, any necessary small strips of material may be removed, depending on the thickness of the fluted sheet material. Apart from that, the blank used to produce the box described above can be cut from a rectangular sheet of material with substantially total usage of the area of the sheet and only cut out areas such as at the lower edges of the end walls and the upper edges of the side walls for the purpose of creating a ventilation and viewing window may give rise to off-cuts that need disposal.

There is certain flexibility as to the way in which the various pillar flaps can be secured in their operative positions and one variation is illustrated in FIG. 7 in which the outer surface of the fourth pillar flap (15 b) is folded inwards and secured to the inside of the first pillar flap (11 b) with the third pillar flap (14 b) extending diagonally to form a triangular cross-sectioned pillar. In this instance the pillar becomes a separate entity and may exhibit enhanced strength, particularly when used on smaller boxes. Other relevant parts of the box are given using the same numerals as in the description with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 but with the added letter “b”.

Turning now to FIG. 8 of the drawings, an embodiment of the second variation of the invention is illustrated. In this instance, the amount of off-cuts produced in making the blanks is somewhat more than in the instance described above. In this variation the flutes of the side walls extend along the length of the box and the flutes of the end walls consequently extend up the height of the box, as indicated by arrows “Y”. In such an instance the upper edges of the side walls (22) have at least terminal ledge portions (26) that in use are to extend inwards over the tops of the pillar formations. The operatively upper end of an associated first pillar flap (31) is connected to the terminal ledge portion similarly to that described above but in relation to the side wall instead of the end wall. Second, third and fourth pillar flaps (33, 34, 35) are sequentially attached to the one side of the first pillar flap by way of folds at sulcations in a manner exactly analogous to what is described above but from the point of view of being attached to the side walls instead of the end walls. The corresponding attachment flap (36) is, of course, attached to the end wall (37) in order to complete the analogous construction.

Turning now to another embodiment of box according to the first variation of the invention, and as illustrated in FIG. 9, the attachment flap may be omitted completely and the end (151) of each of the side walls (102) is cut at right angles to the length of the sidewall so that it is generally coplanar with the end wall (103) in the erected condition.

The pillar is still composed of a first pillar flap (111) connected to a ledge panel (106) at a sulcation (112); a second pillar flap (113); a third pillar flap (114); and a fourth pillar flap (115) are formed in substantially exactly the same manner as is described above. However, in consequence of the absence of the attachment flap, each of the pillar flaps may be proportionally wider to utilise the available area of sheet material so that a slightly larger pillar is formed in each corner of the open topped box. The side walls are simply adhesively secured to the outer surface of the composite pillar that is formed first in the assembly procedure.

FIG. 9 also illustrates side walls (102) with an indent (152) extending along a substantial part of the length of the sidewall with the cardboard material (153) that formerly occupied the indent area being folded inwards and being adhesively secured to the inner surface of the sidewall. This renders the sidewall somewhat more rigid.

The embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 10 is substantially identical to the embodiment of the invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 except for the fact that the attachment flap (105) is configured to be secured to the outside surface of the end wall (103) instead of to the inside surface thereof.

Numerous variations may be made to the embodiments of the invention described above without departing from the scope hereof. 

1. A stackable open topped box made of a folded blank of fluted sheet material in which two opposite side walls and two opposite end walls are folded at generally right angles along sulcations attaching them to a bottom of the box wherein flutes of the fluted sheet material may extend in a direction selected from parallel to a length of the box in the direction in which the side walls extend and parallel to a width of the box in the direction in which the end walls extend, wherein the side walls or end walls that have flutes extending transverse to the height of the box have at least a part of a ledge panel attached to an upper edge of the relevant wall by way of a fold at a sulcation so as to project over a pillar formation in a corner of the box, and wherein each pillar formation comprises a first pillar flap having an upper end connected to an edge of the ledge panel by way of a fold at a sulcation with the first pillar flap extending substantially to the bottom of the box and being secured to the adjacent end wall or side wall thereby conforming to a corner of the box, and at least second and third pillar flaps each attached to the other by a fold at a sulcation extending up the height of the box with the second pillar flap being secured to the other of the end wall or side wall, or any attachment flap that may already be secured thereto; the arrangement being such that the flutes of each of any attachment flap, and the first, second and third pillar flaps extend in the direction of the height of the box.
 2. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which a fourth pillar flap is attached to the third pillar flap by a fold at a sulcation with the flutes of the fourth pillar flap extending up the height of the box.
 3. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which the third pillar flap extends diagonally across a corner to form a triangular cross-sectioned pillar.
 4. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which the third pillar flap is secured back onto the second pillar flap.
 5. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which an attachment flap is provided at each end of the wall having flutes extending up its height with the attachment flap being defined by a sulcation of the sheet material extending up the height of the box with the attachment flap extending at generally right angles to the wall to which it is attached and being secured to the adjacent end wall or side wall to thereby conform to a corner of the box.
 6. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which each end of the wall having the flutes extending up its height are simply cut straight and the wall is adhesively secured to the folded pillar formation.
 7. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which the open topped box has an indentation extending along a part of each of the side walls to serve as ventilation and inspection apertures between adjacent vertically stacked boxes in use and the fluted sheet material occupying that indentation is folded inwards along a line of sulcation and is secured to the inside of the side wall to provide an edge region to the side wall with enhanced rigidity.
 8. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which flutes of the side walls extend up the height of the box and flutes of the end walls consequently extend across the width of the box in which instance the end walls have ledges extending across the width of the box with each end of the ledge being attached to the operatively upper end of the associated first pillar flap by way of a sulcation.
 9. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 1 in which flutes of the side walls extend along the length of the box and flutes of the end walls consequently extend up the height of the box and the upper edges of the side walls have at least terminal ledge portions extending inwards over the tops of the pillar formations and to each end of which is attached the operatively upper end of the associated first pillar flap.
 10. A stackable open topped box as claimed in claim 9 in which only two terminal ledge portions at the ends of the side walls are provided.
 11. A blank of fluted sheet material that has been cut and sulcated to be folded into a box as claimed in claim 1 in which the blank is basically in the form of a rectangular piece of fluted sheet material cut and sulcated to provide two opposite side walls and two opposite end walls attached along sulcations to a bottom of the box wherein flutes of the fluted sheet material may extend either parallel to the length of the box in the direction in which the side walls extend or parallel to the width of the box in the direction in which the end walls extend, and wherein the side walls or end walls that have the flutes extending in a direction transverse to that corresponding to the height of the box in use have at least a part of a ledge panel attached to the outermost edge towards each end of the relevant wall by way of a sulcation, wherein the ledge panel is attached by way of a sulcation to one end of a first pillar flap that is in turn attached to at least a second and a third pillar flap each of which is attached to the other by a sulcation extending in a direction corresponding to the height of the box, the arrangement being such that the flutes of each of the first, second and third pillar flaps extend in a direction corresponding to the height of the box in the erected condition of the blank.
 12. A blank of fluted sheet material as claimed in claim 11 in which a fourth pillar flap is attached to the third pillar flap by a sulcation with flutes of the fourth pillar flap extending in a direction corresponding to the height of the box.
 13. A blank of fluted sheet material as claimed in claim 1 in which an attachment flap is provided at each end of a wall having flutes extending up its height with the attachment flap being defined by a sulcation of the sheet material extending in a direction corresponding to the height of the box such that the flutes of the attachment flaps extend in a direction corresponding to the height of the box.
 14. A blank of fluted sheet material as claimed in claim 1 in which the blank is especially designed so as to be capable of machine erection utilising adhesive to secure appropriate areas of the fluted sheet material together. 